DSU Earth Day/Arbor Day Events -- Photos Slideshow

Although Earth Day is not until April 22, Delaware State University got so excited about its sustainability efforts, the institution just could not wait.

DSU held its Earth Day events on April 18, combining it with its Arbor Day Celebration. For images from the day’s events, click on the below photo slideshow, followed by more information.

The Earth Day events were a combination of the participation by DSU students, faculty, staff and administrators, along with other partners such as Pepco Holdings Inc., DuPont, Emory Hill, Delmarva Power, Toyota Corporation, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Arbor Day foundation.

The morning event included a number of exhibitions by DSU groups and the abovementioned partners, followed by a 10 a.m. program, all in the Martin Luther King Student Center.

Dr. Stanley Merritt was the keynote speaker, and there were also a presentation by Pepco Holdings’ Lisa Pfeifer and Aleta Finney, and a poem and song performance by the children of the DSU Child Development Lab.

In addition, it was announced that Evers Hall was the winner of the "Green Games" competition against Jenkins Hall. It was a contest to see which residential hall could reduce its consumption of energy the most.

In the afternoon, the University held Arbor Day Celebration outside of the historic Loockerman Hall on campus.

Mary Widhelm, program manager of the Arbor Day Foundation, Michael Valenti, administrator of the Delaware Forest Service, presented DSU President Harry L. Williams with a plaque recognizing the renewal of the University’s USA Tree Campus status.

The Tree Campus USA designation goes to schools that have an implemented plan for tree care that is supported by school allocations, an established Campus Tree Advisory Committee, related education outreach, as well as an annual observance of Arbor Day. It is the second consecutive year DSU has received that designation.

DSU is the only USA Tree Campus in Delaware and is one of only two Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the country to be designated as such.

“The founding fathers (of DSU) would be happy about the way we are preserving this campus,” Dr. Williams said. “We are going to preserve space for our trees.”

Syrena Taylor, a senior DSU student in DSU’s College of Agriculture and Related Sciences, noted that there are 172 different species of trees on the campus, 25 of which has been planted in the last two years.

“We have inspired ourselves to be better than unique,” Ms. Taylor said.